The Buddha Light International Association’s Johannesburg Chapter held its annual meeting on 3 February 2013 at the Mandeville Sports Club in Johannesburg.

Special guests included some of the leaders of Chinese community such as Sherry Chen, Philip Chen, John Trung, Debby Hong, Yun-Ling Chen and Chung-Bing Hsu. Nan Hua Temple’s Venerable Masters Yi Chun and Hui Xiang also attended the event. Almost all of the Johannesburg Chapter’s members and committee members were present.

Chairlady Du Mann Ying welcomed all present and thanked the members for their support during the past year. She furthermore said that it was through everybody’s invaluable assistance and contributions that made the year’s functions a great success.

Mrs Ying also shared the good news that BLIA’s Johannesburg Chapter once again received a prize from Fo Guang Shan in Taiwan. The Chapter was awarded the “best contribution to education awarded” in 2010 at the BLIA World Meeting at Fo Guang Shan in Taiwan. This time the award was for charity.

In conclusion, Mrs Ying encouraged the members to support each other so that they could continue to work hard in practicing the “Bodhisattva’s path”.

Various members and contributors enthusiastically shared their insight after which Philip Chen, deputy chairperson, presented the financial report.

One of the BLIA Johannesburg Chapter members, Lee Raath Brownie, shared her experience visiting Fo Guang Shan in Taiwan last year July. She presented members with a visual tour of The Buddha Memorial Hall as well as Fo Guang Shan and the other temples visited throughout Taiwan.

Venerable Yi Chun of Nan Hua Temple reviewed the BLIA World Meeting, the recently held in Taiwan. She shared some interesting photos of the events held and described some of the discussions that took place. The meeting, which was attend by representatives from all over the world, presented a platform for BLIA members from various countries to interact with each other, share their experiences and suggestions and increase the potential of BLIA. Some of the suggestions included the increase of membership fees and unified uniforms for the volunteers.

The AGM ended with a delectable vegetarian lunch prepared by the catering committee of BLIA Johannesburg chapter.